A doctor’s frustration after Navy Yard shooting

Veteran trauma doctor Janis Orlowski, who earlier spent two decades in Chicago, spoke out about the violence at the Washington, D.C., Navy Yard this past week, and said the community needs to work together to figure out how to help the mentally ill and those in crisis. NBC’s Peter Alexander reports.

Arkansas Considers Controversial Religious Act

Accused Murderer Sent Back to Washington State

Patient Considers Fighting Cancer With Polio

Lawmaker Suggests Castration Be Part of Sex Trafficking Bill

NBC News Channel
March 31, 2015

This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>>>now to one of the other
front lines
in the battle. doctors struggling to save the lives of innocent victims. we started this week with a mass t shooting in
washington
. one of the enduring moments from the tragic massacre came from a veteran
d.c.trauma center
doctor who spoke out against violence because she had simply seen enough of it. it turns out that doctor, janice orlowski of the med star
washington hospital center
spent two days prior to this in chicago. when her comments struck a chord we wanted to hear more. nbc's
peter alexander
has our report.

>>fourth floor. a man with a shotgun. multiple shots fired. multiple people down.

>>an officer was struck twice in the leg. they are
en route
to medstar.

>>it was not a nice day. it was a rainy, overcast day.

>> reporter: dr. janice orlowski from medstar was treating a patient when she heard the news.

>>one of the nurses came in and said there is a shooting at the
navy yard
.

>> reporter: hours later the frustration she expressed struck a chord across the country.

>>i would like you to put my
trauma center
out of business. i really would. i would like to not be an expert on gunshots.

>>i heard a
police officer
being interviewed. he said americans are going to have to get used to more mass killings. you know what? i refuse to believe that's our future.

>> reporter: for dr. orlowski who spent two years at a chicago hospital before coming to
d.c.
this morning's shooting was personal. horrifying she called it. you have 32 years on the
front lines
of
gun violence
like this. how do we fix it?

>>we have to talk. we can't just point at
washington
. we have to talk as a community. we have to talk about what we are going to do for
mental health
. what do we do for individuals in crisis.

>> reporter: even on this week-day afternoon, new arrivals including a stabbing victim shot in the past 14 h times.

>>it is exhausting work. it's necessary work. we hang in there. we fight the good fight.

>> reporter: days before the
d.c.
shooting dr. orlowski turned in her resignation. in three weeks she'll leave emergency response to focus on
health care
policy.

>>what is the lesson we can take away from what we witnessed in
d.c.
?

>>i hope the lesson is don't let another 60,
90 days
go by and have us forget about the shooting at the
navy yard
.